Leadership and employability of students: Evidence from higher institutions in Guizhou Province, China

The study focused on leadership and employability of students in higher education institutions (HEIs). It aimed to examine the direct and indirect effects of student leadership on employability, as well as the mediating roles of emotional intelligence and self-efficacy in this relationship. The study examined the psychological mechanisms through which student leadership fosters employability, particularly by assessing emotional intelligence and self-efficacy as mediators. The research design adopted a cross-sectional quantitative approach using structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample size consisted of 413 undergraduate students drawn from 10 universities in Guizhou Province, China. Sampling technique involved the purposive selection of institutions and the voluntary participation of students via an online survey administered through the Questionnaire Star platform. Instruments used included the Student Leadership Practices Inventory, the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Employability Scale. The validity and reliability of the instruments were confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), with Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.95 for all four constructs, and KMO values exceeding 0.94, indicating strong internal consistency and sampling adequacy. Method of data analyses included measurement model testing and structural model evaluation using AMOS 27.0, with item parceling strategies applied to ensure model parsimony. Findings revealed that student leadership had significant direct effects on emotional intelligence and employability. Emotional intelligence significantly enhanced self-efficacy, which in turn positively influenced employability. However, the direct path from leadership to self-efficacy and from emotional intelligence to employability was not statistically significant. Student leadership plays a central role in enhancing employability through a dual-path psychological mechanism involving emotional intelligence and self-efficacy. This indicates that leadership is not only a functional skill but also a catalyst for internal resource development critical to employment readiness. The study suggests integrating leadership training, emotional intelligence development, and confidence-building strategies into higher education curricula to systematically foster student employability.